AUBURN — Arctic weather may not cancel the city’s annual Winter Festival but it may move much of the celebration inside.

The 14th annual celebration continues Saturday and Sunday with events around the city, including Lost Valley Ski Area, the new Norway Savings Bank Arena, the Auburn Public Library, the Police Activities League center.

“We have a bit more variety this year, a little bit of everything for everyone,” said Ravi Sharma, director for the city Recreation Department.

Sharma said a Friday afternoon day of snowman-building at the Auburn Public Library was canceled due to a lack of snow.

“They just didn’t have enough snow to make snowmen,” he said. “The three-on-three pond hockey was canceled too, but because we just didn’t have many people sign up.”

Sunday’s bonfire and daylong events at the Lake Auburn Community Center have also been canceled because of the weather. Organizer Dan Bilodeau said it’s not due to the cold but  expected winds.

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“When you have poor snow quality and high winds, it’s a dangerous time to have a fire,” Bilodeau said. “It’s so dry out there, it’s like a desert.”

The center’s public ice rink and cross-country snow trails will be open to the public all day and Bilodeau said the bonfire will be pushed into February.

“If people want to walk or ski, it’s wide open,” he said. “The facility is there for activities. We just won’t have the fire and the hot chocolate.”

All the other events will go on as scheduled.

“Each event this year will have access to a warm place to take a break,” Sharma said. “If you’re at Lost Valley, you have the ski lodge. If you are at the park, you have the PAL Center.”

The National Weather Service is calling for cold temperatures Saturday, with a chance of snow, and even colder air on Sunday, with high temperatures around zero.

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“A lot of the events, especially the outdoor events, do depend on the weather being right,” he said. “We need to have the snow and we need to have the place to keep warm.”

Sharma said this year’s Winter Festival features more indoor events than before.

“It really was the luck of the draw,” Sharma said. “These events came up and we welcomed them and added them to the schedule.”

Indoor events continue Saturday with a ribbon cutting, grand opening and an open house at the Norway Savings Bank Arena.

Auburn’s library will be showing the movie “Monsters University” at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Woman’s Literary Union of Androscoggin Valley is hosting a Bunco tournament at the Foss Mansion, 19 Elm St. beginning at 2 p.m.

Outdoor events still scheduled Saturday include ski racing and ice sculpting demonstrations all day at Lost Valley, as well as shovel and cardboard box rides down the mountain, a children’s snow obstacle course, an evening snowmobile ride and torchlight parade at 8 p.m.

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The Androscoggin Land Trust will hosting snowshoeing at 10 a.m. at the Small Road entrance to Mt. Apatite and the Auburn PAL Center will hosting ice skating from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 24 Chestnut St.

Walton Field in New Auburn will host free public skating.

The festival continues Sunday with more free skating at Walton Field and the PAL Center and free skating at the Norway Savings Bank Arena from 2 to 4 p.m.

Lost Valley Ski Area will offering free lift tickets from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday, as well as a day of races and special events. A paint ball biathlon, pairing Nordic skiing and paint ball marksmanship, is scheduled to go on as planned, too.

staylor@sunjournal.com


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